Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (The Legacy, #3)

by Melissa K. Roehrich

“You either want someone to make decisions and choices for you, or you don’t, Tessa. You wanted control. You have it. That makes you responsible for the consequences. No one else. I’m not going to be the one to make you feel okay about those choices. Theon is the one to seek out when you need someone else to make decisions for you so you don’t have to feel the ramifications. He’s the one who’s going to take on that responsibility so you don’t have to, because he’d do anything to keep you from harm. He’s the one who will protect you from yourself. I’m going to be the one who lets you decide whether you’re going to crawl, run, or fly, and I won’t catch you unless you ask me to.” “A balance,” she muttered, shifting once more. “In all things, there must be balance.”

“I’m not going to take anything from you, Tessa. You’re going to have to come over here and ask for what you want.” “Ask for it?” she scoffed. “If you think I’m making this choice for you, think again. You want people to make the hard decisions for you and that won’t be me.”

“You think I don’t know what you need?” he asked with a smirk that was all predator. “I know exactly what you need, but I don’t think you know what you need. You accuse everyone of taking from you—when we both know that was one thing he never took from you—so now you need to ask for it.”

Tell me how to love you, kitten, because I’ll pluck stars from the sky and walk through your flames.

“He is my family,” he agreed. “But you? You are my light.”

“Baby girl, I’ve always been yours. I just didn’t understand it.”

“He was always supposed to be yours, right? When I am gone, he can become your Guardian. The way it was always meant to be. Yeah?”

“Tessalyn Ausra, I would sacrifice all the realms and all the stars for you. You are perfectly wild. Perfectly untamed. You were not made to be caged, nor were you made to be a sacrifice for a realm that does not deserve such a gift. You were made to live in the light. Go live, little storm.”

“You lied to me,” she seethed. “You told me you would always find me, and now you are leaving me?” “I will find you in the After, Tessa. I’ll be waiting for you. You will forever be mine.”

“Be happy,” he repeated. “But more than that, be free, Tessa.” “You lied to me!” she cried again, shoving at his chest while simultaneously clutching at his shirt. “You lied to me, and I hate you for it!” “I know, little storm,” he said, holding her close a second longer. “But know that I am yours. Every piece of me.”